Submitted by jcwitte t3_z6gazx in television
And I honestly don't know which side it's on. Probably the pretentious side.
I love how in the first episode one of the contestants said "there aren't many people in this business that look like me."
Looks at other contestants that all look similar
It's fine for passive entertainment I guess.
"Somm" is a great doc about people trying to pass the incredibly difficult Master Sommelier certification.
Didn't that entire generation of sommeliers end up getting disqualified over a cheating scandal?
No. That film came out in 2013. That scandal was with the 2018 exam.
I know of a famous sommalier who has faked his entire career. It's amazing to see.
Tell me more!
One of the proctors leaked all the answers for the tasting portion of the 2018 exam (widely reputed as the hardest--by a vast margin--portion of the 3-part Master Sommelier exam) to two people.
And because the group of test-takers each year is so small and they are all in constant contact each other for study and practice, it was impossible to know how many people got the leak.
And so they just blanket disqualified everyone and made them all retake the test next year.
That’s right!!!
I don't know...the people focused on in that were also strongly in the 'this is the most pretentious shit ever' category, what with the guy getting a separate apartment away from his fiance so he could 'study'.
I know a guy who did this for the bar exam.
One of these things is not like the other though. The people followed in 'Somm' really came off as douche bags.
Was that the one where some poor girlfriend was always having to clean up all their wine shit after a night of "studying" and everyone was too hung over to bother to help? And the one guy would always be shit talking and joking about everyone else but immediately have a meltdown and say everyone takes it too far the second someone would good naturely poke at him?
One of my favorite documentaries is called Sour Grapes. It's about this guy who defrauds all these rich pretentious d bags into thinking they're drinking these extremely rare vintage wines, and it's so satisfying watching them get taken for a ride. Check it out, should be on HBO Max.
Unless it had unemployedwineguy, then it would be ok.
I like the word sommelier because it sounds like "smelly yay" and so its kinda fitting cos they do smelly yay wines.
The weakest point of the show is the judging and the judges themselves. They would set the standards of how they would judge the challenge yet would ding some folks on not following the challenge and others would get out OK even though they made the same "mistake".
For example, the color challenge... the contestant that had red & green had both colors- technically one of the colors appeared with the garnish. Judges said this was Ok... but he was elimated. Meanwhile another contestant did the same thing (purple/yellow) where she had one color as the garnish and she was applauded for it.
Add the idea that the judges have like 0 personality and it made for a frustrating reality show.
how about allowing people to make food when it's a drink competition.
On the other hand I think one of the only redeeming quality of the show is the host. I would watch Tone Bell in more things.
Tone really carried the judges! Maybe he knew they were lame ducks lol. He was a good host.
Tone Bell? Who was the co host guitar note?
The judges are always my least favourite part of reality shows, especially when they're trying to be funny or catty instead of being professional.
My wife and I were surprisingly entertained. I was intrigued by the elimination round and how sometimes it was just 2 battling but every once in a while it would be 3 or even 4 up for elimination.
yeah we liked it too
It’s perfect background noise. Not particularly interesting but good to have on I guess.
I've always wondered why people need background noise. Why not have nothing?
Because being alone with your thoughts is scary
My thoughts are pretty tame, just that sound the ice cream truck makes and that clip of a monkey sniffing its fingers after itching its butt. And sometimes boobs.
Oh for me it's the quiet moments when I end up silently re-experiencing all my past failures, traumas, and regrets. Oh, and the crushing realization of a rapidly impending, unavoidable death.
So anyway that's why I have Spongebob on in the background right now.
>I've always wondered why people need background noise.
Going from a dorm room with 2 roommates who always had people over to living by myself was an adjustment and having the TV on in the background makes it feel less creepy.
I have tinnitus, and need some level of noise so as to not be deeply annoyed by the ringing in both ears.
Because some of us have a tiny monkey in our brains that demands satisfaction and if it doesn’t get satisfaction it starts singing “NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YO DOWN” or “CALL 266-8433, BECAUSE THE NEXT BEST THING TO NEW…” at maximum volume until we give it legal meth.
I hate the tiny monkey. I absolutely cannot sit in silence and struggle sleeping because of intrusive thoughts like these.
My brain just randomly gets in a pattern of saying "green frogs, jump logs" whilst I am trying to sleep. And I dont know why. Its like I get right on the verge of falling asleep and if there isn't a TV om and my brain realises it's quiet it has to whisper in my ear "green frogs, jump logs". Like brain it's been 20 years it do be a known fact thar green frogs jump logs. I have accepted this truth you preach to me.
That and "JONES BBQ AND FOOT MASSAGE, JONES BBQ AND FOOT MASSAGE" just echoing in my mind during any brief moment of peace.
I want to be able to sit in silence and not need a TV but then the TV in my brain just goes into overdrive. And im wanting to eat something delciousable down at Jones good ass bbq and foot massage.
All fucking weekend I had the stupid clip of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell singing 'I could blue' playing in repeat in my head. And it was Thanksgiving so couldn't put music on, oh no, had to talk with our family who I avoid most of the time for a REASON. I swear I slept half of Friday just to avoid it in my head.
My GF watched it and all I could think of was how stupid it was they kept "deconstructing" cocktails
Imagine going to a bar and asking for a drink and then you have to wait 90 minutes for some smoking drink that has like $60 ingredients in it.
That is a thing. It’s called a cocktail bar. Although the wait time usually isn’t 90 minutes.
I mean I kindaaaa get this. I definitely wouldn’t wait 90 minutes and pay that much for a drink after.
But isn’t it the same with food? Yes you can say you don’t care about fancy dishes but it’s true that sometimes it’s worth paying for some specialty courses. And it’s not like you eat that all the time. Me and my friends, and especially me are cheap haha. I usually cook for myself and sometimes I’m just happy with McDonalds. But once a year or so we still go and find some good food experience.
But yeah idk. Then again food is still different than drinks.
This would be more akin to a Salt Bae version of "fine dining"
It's an experience!!!!!
They aren't making up drinks from scratch in an actual craft cocktail bar. All the prep work is done, it's primarily just mixing the drink. It takes 5 minutes at most to smoke a drink after it's in the glass. 10 to 20 min wait for the drink depending on other orders coming in.
Still hella expensive though.
And all that despite good Craft Gin or Whiskey tasting way better than those cocktails on it's own.
You have British Bake-Off where when a contestant goes home you feel bad for them because everyone is so nice and likeable and then you have Drink Masters where everyone has to have attitude and drama. I could care less who loses or wins. Didn't make it through one episodes.
I think you mean “Couldn’t care less”
This needs to be a bot.
I was watching clips of Canadian Masterchef on youtube, and I couldn’t believe how mean they all are to each other, so much attitude and drama! the OG (of this format) Australian version, the contestants are all so supportive of each other. https://youtu.be/t0acSsS5A0g
I like the British version more, just because I can recognize a few people (Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood).
Every cooking competition apart from British Bake-Off and whatever Guy Fieri is doing is horrible, if you ask me, for the simple fact that there's so much manufactured tension. Chopped is the worst for this.
The sets may as well start literally exploding.
If you like cooking shows but want to avoid drama - Masterchef: The Professionals (UK) is brilliant. All the chefs are chefs in Michelin kitchens so the standard is super high - but there's literally no 'I'm not here to make friends, I'm here for my family' bullshit.
Watched it last night. The purple-haired guy is just a tool.
Australian masterchrf is amazing. We are on the last season of the trio tho. I don't think I'd be able to watch and enjoy the show again with new judges.
I was on the same boat and the first season with the new judges took a bit of getting used to. They were finding their ground and it seemed a bit strange in parts but definitely worth watching. The following seasons have only gotten better after that.
Just became a real comfort thing after mum died to watch it. I am sure I could still enjoy but the three lads were the comforting background noise to my mourning process this year, I think having no family left I liked having so many episodes of a show with wholesome familiar faces and positive vibes.
Still enjoy food shows so no doubt il watch. Just sad to lose the little parasocial experience I had to help me through grief a little bit. Just enjoyed so much consistent positivity and genuine passion, made me want to cook and do better.
That was not true you continued to watch though.
It was not as feel good as Bake-Off of course but it was still on the nice side. Some very minor drama but for the most part people were nice and treated each other well. It was almost the opposite for me that people were talking about made new friends for life when they have been in a couple of episodes together.
I don't want to watch a reality competition show where everyone is nice to each other. I watch reality tv for the DRAMA
I’ll sound pretentious myself here. They must’ve paid the foley artist for one day of work as all the pours make the exact same sound
Do they call themselves mixologists?
Real ones prefer Cocktologist
We really liked it. Tried out some of the techniques they used during family thanksgiving. We were terrible at it, but it was fun.
It was OK. I found the host to be a bad fit, a lot of obnoxious jokes and puns that just didn't work with the tone of the series that well.
I do also find it a misstep that Netflix releases even reality competitions all at once. Half of the fun of these types of shows is discussing who you like and dislike, who you think will win, so on and so forth.
I loved it, it's quirky, the contestants are all interesting. It is also at its core pretentious as fuck. Cocktails are a way to make spirits palatable, that is the absolute baseline. This shit is more culinary than it is mixology.
Just because there is more than one minority person in the room doesn't mean they are not still in the minority in general.
I took it to mean outward appearance i.e. clothes, hairstyle, piercings, tattoos, etc.
Well, while I've seen quite a few barkeeps with facial tattoos, lots of piercings and unusual hair, they are still a minority compared to basically normal looking people, so that still fits.
In the kind of bar that employs someone who they describe as a ‘master mixologist’?
Because they all basically tend to look like someone’s Sims character
Yeah, people within the subcultures where these traits are more common do tend to stick together, and you are displaying one of the reasons for that when you mock them.
Somebody covering themselves in tattoos or piercings or having wild hair doesn't affect me negatively in any way. Maybe I'll have a private chuckle to myself if I find something silly, but I have no reason to attack them just for existing.
Lol who is mocking or attacking anyone?
Noting that a great many mixologists have a certain fashion style is in no way a comment on said style, much less a putdown, so you can just go ahead and climb off that high horse
You literally said they don't look like real human beings, but rather cartoon video game characters. That's mockery.
No reason to speak further.
no, he said they look like someone's Sims character. That's different.
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People tend to make Sims characters that are cooler looking versions of themselves.
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As in: "It's me, but with tattoos I'd never have the guts to put on myself, and with the rockstar long hair I would never think of growing in real life. And let's go head and put him in leather pants I would never be able to pull off."
Right? Like everyone in the business was in that room at that very moment.
I’ve never heard the word juniper so much in my life. That said, I thought it was interesting. I love the weird competition shows they have like the bbq masters one and glow up!
The whole "there aren't many people in this business that look like me." statement can be applied to almost anything today. Like bruh, you're making drinks, it literally does not matter what you look like as long as you can get me fucked up.
I remember watching someone react to this show. MikeMGTV or something …
The dude on the show put dry ice directly in the drink and he got absolutely blasted for it, and he acted like it was no big deal.
Its definitely a background noise show and nothing more.
I actually really enjoyed this show. The only part I didn’t care for is when the judges are obviously reading lines. Otherwise I was impressed with all the contestants and had a good time, especially towards the end.
For a less obnoxious challenge show I like Blown Away, about glass artists. Still has some of the faults of this (admittedly) limited genre but it's cool seeing artists doing their thing. I love mixology but I agree that the "attitude" this show gives off is just so bad and so common on network/mainstream TV
I fucking love Blown Away. I knew literally nothing about glass blowing before watching that. I still don't know much, but it's incredibly interesting to watch them.
I made it through half of episode one. Pretentious, boring contestants and hosts. I wanted to like it, but couldn’t do it.
Yea I dont think it rides a line. Its the classic network tv show, where everything takes 10 minutes to do anything, and there is really only a few minutes of good content.
20+ years service industry, with a good bit behind the bar. Near the tail end of my career was when the whole mixology was coming about and it was a good thing. No more roses lime juice, no more sour mix from a plastic jug; real ingredients that made the cocktail actually taste good.
That being said I hated and still do hate the mixology peeps. Not a one of these folks could run a bar, you need to know how to take 3 orders whilst stirring, shaking and pouring and then decide which of the 3 to make next. How to go to the cooler and get the beer you know your regular is going to need next (even though they haven't ordered it) while getting your lemon twists and the manhatten batch.
It's great to watch while I'm cooking dinner. I check in every once in a while and say things like "why are they cooking...food?"
The MC takes a little too much pleasure in booting people, but other than that is a solid dick.
OK I was scrolling all the comments before commenting and it took a while, but YES! Why are they cooking food? What does this have to do with cocktails?!?!? I enjoy the show and can even look past the pretentious snootery, but I can't help but audibly ask WTF this is not a cooking show, I don't go to craft bars and expect them to serve me chicken and waffles with my drink, why would I fault a bartender for not being a chef? Also, it would be nice to have them make regular cocktails every once in a while, no "add your own spin", no deconstruction, no gelatin pearls of vermouth. WHO CAN MAKE THE BEST TASTING MARGARITA, MANHATTAN, OR (your fave drink here) ?!?
/rant
I agree. My brother showed me a few episodes and I could not get into it. The drinks were too over the top.
Watched a couple of episodes. Found it kinda boring and they didn't really show how the drinks were built, no recipes or amounts.
If it makes you feel any better it is also deeply cringey from the perspective of craft bartenders.
Clearly you've never watched Bong Appetit.
I usually like Netflix shows like this; any kind of skill competition type show. I started it but turned in before the judging or anything. I remember that part - honestly, this kinda show brings those types out no matter if it’s glass blowing, cake baking, or metal working. You learn to get over it lol
I couldn't get past the first episode. When the guy put the cocktail with dry ice in front of the judges and they refused to drink it because they were afraid it would kill them I turned it off.
Dry ice and activated charcoal in cocktails have been linked to deaths. It's less "I'm afraid this will kill me right this second" and more "this is a dangerous trend in the industry and I won't be supporting it."
Then why was it even available as an ingredient? I mean, I know why, just so that they could manufacture some stupid cooking show drama.
Dry ice has been used in cocktails for decades. The number of injuries and deaths from it are minuscule, far less than random allergic reactions to other ingredients. The activated charcoal is a lot more of an issue in my opinion since there is danger of interfering with medications.
>"this is the most pretentious shit ever"
Did you ever see that PBS wine tasting show with Stanley Tucci and Zachary Quinto?
Honestly I’m just impressed a dude almost poisoned the judges and he got though to the next round
If they actually had each contestant break down how they make each cocktail before presenting to the judge this would have been a valuable show to get cocktail recipes from and removed a good amount of padding.
As someone who can't drink, the rise of the pretentious bartender has been both a good and a bad thing. So many more restaurants and bars have quality mocktails and sodas as an option, but at the same time, you still get some weird looks and some weird ideas. The people who are against mocktails are super against them.
Couldn't get over the promo...the host oozed douchebag
The winner literally only won because she's black. It was cringe how much they emphasized that in the finale, when she totally blew one of the final challenges. Tao should've won. We are so past the point of bartending being a "white" thing, if it ever was.
Edit: why y'all mad? LP was the front runner in the beginning but she blew the finale. She didn't deserve to win.
You opened up a can of worms but we've seen a staggering amount of reality show winners who pretty clearly weren't the 'best' at what they did...however they fit the demographics 'best' so they end up winning.
I have to say it has removed almost all drama in these shows, has really gotten awful the last few years.
To be clear, LP was my pick for a majority of the show. She just really blew it in the finale. It was so shocking when she won, because I was certain it would be Tao or Kate. It was pretty obvious when they referenced "people who look like you and me", for some reason not saying black or POC.
There is a very good reason they don't do 'blind' judging for these shows.
They tried it a while ago and it turns out the results are....less diverse.
I look at reality 'competition' shows as just scripted now, just like awards shows. They edit it to get the direction they want to go regardless of what happens.
Had a friend who was on a dating reality show and they really fucked him over in the editing room.
It's crazy because I feel like it wasn't that long ago that it was clear who the winner was, regardless of anything besides their work. One show that comes to mind that had a lot of women (and some men, though mostly women IIRC) of countless backgrounds is Cupcake Wars. It never crossed my mind during a single episode that the winner was chosen due to race. We do live in a different political climate now, though. I have no problem with the premise of LP winning, but when most of the audience is shocked that it was Tao, it's fair to suggest it's totally rigged. That's too bad for your friend. I definitely would advise my friends against going on reality tv unless they want to see the worst version of themselves lol 😆
Well the shitty part is due to his NDA he can't complain about it, they made it extremely clear to him that if he even contacted a lawyer they'd hit him with the full weight of their legal team.
Technically he wasn't even allowed to tell me, and I have a feeling these NDAs have only gotten more extreme recently. Gives them carte blanche to edit anyone into 'winning' or 'losing' and they can't do jack shit about it.
Gemmabeta t1_iy196b0 wrote
I would like to see the same show, except it's about Sommeliers instead.
That would be so much more pretentious that it might just wrap around to being interesting again.